After taking a comfortable hot bath, Renee Gong really felt like life here was too good.
There's a specially made bathroom. Although it's not a flush toilet, having a squat toilet is a big improvement—at least you don't have to empty the toilet every day.
And there's a big bath tub where you can soak, which is even more comfortable than life back home.
After getting all drowsy from her bath, Renee Gong walked into Gang Zhao's room ready to eat, only to find that there wasn't a single person in the house.
What's going on? Renee Gong was dumbfounded. She had clearly heard people talking just now. How could everyone disappear in the blink of an eye—could it be haunted?
"Dad, Mom, where are you?"
"Brother, where are you?"
"Uncle Zhao, Aunt Zhan, where are you?"
Renee Gong didn't even notice she was speaking with a hint of a sob, especially with the sound of wind rustling the branches outside, making her feel even more frightened.
"Hehe, we're here," Guangran Zhao's voice suddenly emerged from the ground.
Huh, Guangran Zhao's voice. Hmph, I knew it was this kid's idea. Renee Gong thought it was the first time they met this noon, they had no previous grievances, but this kid often played little tricks, making Renee Gong quite furious.
For example, putting some prickly balls on Renee Gong's clothes or suddenly jumping out from behind. Although these pranks were no big deal, they still pissed Renee Gong off.
The problem was that the Zhao Family owned the place. As someone freeloading there, Renee Gong couldn't retaliate against Guangran Zhao.
Especially since Guangran Zhao, although a mere kid who was easy to deal with, had Xuran Zhao as a backup. Even though he always smiled warmly, every time he saw Guangran's pranks, he would signal Renee to retaliate violently.
The issue was, how could Renee dare to strike back harshly when that was his younger brother? As an elder brother, he'd definitely retaliate.
Renee Gong always felt Xuran Zhao was a bit like Fuji Shusuke from the anime she used to chase, The Prince of Tennis. Even if he liked to tease Guangran, he surely didn't like seeing others bully him. So, for her own safety, she could only pretend to be generous.
I just didn't expect Guangran Zhao to upgrade his prank and scare her using a ghostly scheme. That's crossing the line.
Hmph, once she catches Guangran Zhao, she'll make sure his pranks can't go on, and she'll complain. After all, she's the youngest child and a girl, she should have some privileges, right?
"Sister, are you done with your bath?" Ruiwen Gong heard his sister's cries and quickly pushed open the cabinet door, popping out. "Sister, are you coming?"
Seeing Ruiwen pop out from the cabinet, Renee Gong was shocked. Could she have guessed right? Is there really a basement right under the cabinet?
This feels like a scene from a tunnel battle. Renee Gong was stunned.
"Sister, hurry up." Ruiwen Gong saw his sister frozen in place, helplessly walked out of the cabinet, and pulled her inside.
"So big." Entering the basement, Renee Gong was amazed by the tall shelves piled high, packed with bags, each of them bulging. Could they all be grain?
Only now did Renee Gong understand why Gang Zhao said there was plenty of grain. But where did this grain come from?
It seemed the village had a high grain yield, but no matter how high, they couldn't give much to the members, especially since they needed to hand over some to the commune.
"Taozi, when spring comes, we'll clear more mountain land. Before, it was just Jing Zhan and me doing it." Gang Zhao was worried about next year's grain supply. Jing Zhan had given birth to a child and was weak.
Gang Zhao himself had to work, and there was simply no way to manage so much land. They couldn't let Xuran Zhao go to the fields; even though he was a half-grown lad, Gang Zhao didn't want his son to exhaust himself at such a young age.
"Okay, and Mei Na can go out too. I just don't know if watering is easy. If it is, we can let the younger ones work." Tao Gong knew there weren't many kids in the village, plus it was noisy outside, so many kids were free-range at home.
This was the only thing that Tao Gong was dissatisfied with. Even though the current trend didn't value education much, Tao Gong didn't believe the country would always enforce such policies. Even if these policies stayed the same, he didn't want his children to be illiterate.
No matter how good the Northeast is, it's not a haven. Tao Gong didn't want to leave, but he didn't want his children to remain in this Northeastern rural place, generation after generation as farmers. So he couldn't let his kids go astray.
"There's water. Over there, a spring from a cave seeps through the cracks. I dug a pool beside it. It's not big or deep but enough for irrigation, and I've also raised some fish." Gang Zhao excitedly shared his success with his friend.
Oh my god, Renee Gong gasped. Secretly cultivating wasteland and creating a pond to raise fish on the mountain? Hasn't anyone noticed?
And Gang Zhao actually shared such a big secret with the Gong family, who only came yesterday. Wasn't he worried they'd sell him out?
Renee Gong really didn't know what to say. Although Gang Zhao seemed smart, why would he do something so stupid?
Xuran Zhao, for some reason, always wanted to keep an eye on Renee Gong, hoping to see her surprise. He hadn't expected to see such an expression.
Could it be she thought his old man was more stupid? Indeed, anyone would find his old man's straightforwardness silly after hearing it.
"Will you betray us and tell the commune?" Xuran Zhao stepped beside Renee Gong and suddenly asked.
"Of course not. Why would I be stupid enough to do that? Would there be any benefit?" Renee Gong rolled her eyes, responding sarcastically. "We came here for re-education. If we just arrived and ratted out Uncle Zhao, what would people around us think?"
"They'd definitely ostracize us, and my family wouldn't have a good life in the future."
"My dad ended up like this because someone complained about him back home. So we won't do such things."
"Besides, why do something that harms ourselves? Would ratting someone out give us a full meal?"
"Only an idiot would do things that hurt themselves." This is something even a kid knows. How dare he asks, Renee Gong thought Xuran Zhao was really dumb.
"I want to be full, eat meat, grow taller, grow up quickly, and earn money for my parents." Renee Gong clenched her fists, speaking of her grand ambitions.
It's really annoying being short and constantly being looked down upon. For instance, this afternoon, following Ruiwen Gong up the mountain, they went to collect things but left her to guard them. Sigh, so boring.
Even though the three boys wanted to protect her from too much hard work, such obvious contempt for her physical ability was too much, wasn't it?